


out of all the fish in the sea (it's gotta be you)

by stilljunhui (acyria)



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Cute Yang Jeongin | I.N, Fish, Fluff, Hwang Hyunjin is Whipped, Hyunjin is whipped for Jeongin and that's the tea, I love having that tag in my fics, I only tagged those who actually speak in the fic, M/M, Shy Yang Jeongin | I.N, all the boys are mentioned though!, ofc he is tho, subtle changlix
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-04
Updated: 2018-08-04
Packaged: 2019-06-21 07:49:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15553038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acyria/pseuds/stilljunhui
Summary: Hyunjin picked up the stack of flyers and began shuffling through them, finally stopping at one with a sudden smile on his face. It was a fond sort of smile, one usually reserved for cute things like puppies; Seungmin was sure there was no club for that since dogs weren’t allowed on campus. Maybe it was dance? But he was already in his own team. The other boy presented the flyer with a flourish as Seungmin began to read the words.He read it silently once, twice, before loudly exclaiming:“What the fuck is theBetta Fish Society?!”Or, the one where Hyunjin’s whipped and joins a school club just for Jeongin.





	out of all the fish in the sea (it's gotta be you)

**Author's Note:**

> Mainly inspired by a few prompts I saw regarding **a)** getting a popular kid to join their school club for the sake of an event and **b)** having no idea what the club is for but joining since the person giving the flyers is cute. As always, Hyunjin whipped for Jeongin is one of my favourite things about them. Also, I placed Felix in Jeongin's batch even if I know he's not the youngest 00liner since I figured he'd be the most realistically delayed as a foreigner + he's a baby like Jeongin, that's all. The rest of them are also grouped (97line + Minho) (the rest of 00line + Changbin) for the sake of the story.
> 
> This was also inspired by a fact I read about how Jeongin likes goldfish, along how I genuinely had classmates before who _loved_ betta fish and I think it's a cute and interesting. Thus this was born. Please excuse the title though, it's cheesy as heck since I wrote this at 2AM.

“I finally joined a club today,” Hyunjin said as a form of greeting.

 

He dropped bunch of flyers on the cafeteria table before sitting down. His best friend, Seungmin, glanced at the multitude of paper that was placed in front of him with a look of surprise, before looking back up at the other boy. They were already in their third year of university. Within the last two years, Hyunjin had sworn off joining clubs, so the sudden change of heart made his friend curious. 

 

“Just one? It looks like the clubs were trying their best to get you, as usual,” Seungmin commented, picking up a flyer for the Positive Science Club and quickly placing it back down.The boy himself was alright with clubs, being in one of the many music clubs himself; ever since Hyunjin’s reputation as one of the university’s best looking guys grew over the years, however, the latter was always a target during recruitment week. Club members figured that if they got one of the popular students to advertise them, more students would join.

 

For that very reason, Hyunjin normally avoided recruitment week like a plague.

 

“Yeah, well,” he replied with a nonchalant shrug. “Maybe if I finally just stick to one club, the rest would stop bothering me.” 

 

“That makes sense,” Seungmin agreed, although he still felt like something was off since the other boy could have done that last year, too. “So, which club is the lucky winner?”

 

Hyunjin picked up the stack of flyers and began shuffling through them, finally stopping at one with a sudden smile on his face. It was a fond sort of smile, one usually reserved for cute things like puppies; Seungmin was sure there was no club for that since dogs weren’t allowed on campus. Maybe it was dance? But he was already in his own team. The other boy presented the flyer with a flourish as Seungmin began to read the words. 

 

He read it silently once, twice, before loudly exclaiming:

 

“What the fuck is the _Betta Fish Society_?!”

 

“Now I know what you’re thinking,” Hyunjin immediately said, raising his hands up defensively. “I swear I can explain.”

 

“Do you even _know_ what a betta fish is?” The other boy continued regardless, reading through the flyer. Apparently the whole point of the club was to showcase the beauty of various different types of betta fish, teach people how to care for them, and also overall aimed to stop the practice of purposefully pitting them against each other in fights. It was a fairly new club, created just that year, although _how_ they got it approved was beyond Seungmin.

 

Across him, Hyunjin at least looked a little sheepish, “a little bit. The guy handing out the flyers went on about them for a good five minutes.” 

 

“You listened to him talk about _fish_ for a whole five minutes—“ 

 

Immediately, his best friend saw the whole picture.

 

“You found the guy cute, didn’t you,” Seungmin stated, not really a question, rolling his eyes as Hyunjin merely grinned in response. 

 

In his defense, Hyunjin would like to say that he had avoided this situation for a good two years. That was still two years without being swayed into joining a club, two years of ignoring the people who pleaded at him with puppy eyes and sweet voices, and two years of nobody grabbing his attention. Each time he ended up caught by someone during recruitment week, he would smile politely and excuse himself, but that day went a little differently.

 

For one, the boy who stopped him didn’t even know who he was. 

 

“His name is Yang Jeongin. One year lower. He didn’t ask me to join for the club’s _popularity;_ I don’t think he gave a shit about who I am,” he began to tell Seungmin, who had finally stopped giving him a judging look and demanded the whole story. “He asked me to join for the sake of the _fish_. He had some lined up on the booth’s table, too.”

 

“Really? _That’s_ what sold you?” Seungmin asked with a scoff. “C’mon, what’s the real answer?”

 

Hyunjin considered the question thoughtfully. Being in his Junior year, it’s not like he hasn’t had crushes before, but most of the time his interests faded quickly. Either that, or he never found it within himself to actually act upon said interests. With Jeongin, he could surprisingly name quite a lot of things he liked. The younger boy’s sharp eyes that disappeared when he agreed to support the club? The way his voice sounded? His fucking _braces_ —

 

“His passion,” he finally answered, figuring that was a safe and true choice. Hyunjin could appreciate someone who _knew_ what he wanted and worked to _get_ what he wanted, for sure, since he was the same. “Literally, he had his cute little face all up in mine—at least, as close as he can get for his height—talking about how making such beautiful animals fight is mean. I fucking agree.” 

 

The boy got Seungmin’s drink and jokingly held the cup up in a mock toast, “to betta fish.”

 

“You’re on your own, Hwang Hyunjin.”

 

 

 

 

The next time Hyunjin was supposed to see Jeongin was during the club’s official first day, happening a few days after they met. When he signed up, he had given his contact details along with his name, and was pleased to find that Jeongin had immediately added him on his social media accounts. He knew it was so that the younger boy could invite him to join the Betta Fish Society group and also ask him to like the Betta Fish Society page, but that didn’t matter. 

 

Once his classes for the day had ended and school activity hours begun, Hyunjin made his way to the dedicated room that Jeongin posted about the other day.

 

When he entered, he was pleasantly surprised to find the other boy already there. On what was supposed to be the teacher’s desk was the same row of aquariums that the older boy saw when he first applied. Each aquarium held just one brightly coloured fish, with black paper covering the sides that faced the aquarium beside it. Curious, he decided to approach Jeongin about it, hoping the younger boy would be pleased that he showed interest.

 

“Hey,” Hyunjin greeted, coming up behind the younger boy, who had been too busy tending to one of the aquariums to notice him first arrive.

 

Jeongin immediately turned around at the sound of his voice, with a look of surprise on his features that quickly became a bright smile.

 

“You’re the one who signed up a few days ago!” He said excitedly. “I was almost thinking you wouldn’t come.”

 

“Why wouldn’t I?” the older boy asked, sincerely wondering why Jeongin had thought so negatively. He joined the group, liked the pages, even followed the Instagram dedicated to the younger boy’s fishes—Seungmin had called him _fucking whipped_ when he found out, declining when Hyunjin told him to do the same—so where did he go wrong? 

 

The other boy’s smile wavered a little bit, “sorry, it’s not you, I was just worried. You’re, uhm, the only one who signed up all week.”

 

The revelation immediately made Hyunjin want to hug the younger boy, but knew that wasn’t the most _okay_ thing to do upon meeting someone for just the second time. Was he really the only one who joined the club? He could have sworn the group page had a few people in it, probably not as much as other clubs that was for sure, but a good handful enough. When he brought this up with the other boy, Jeongin had chuckled nervously.

 

“Those are all my friends who joined the group just to support me, but they’re all already in different clubs since last year and couldn’t sign up for mine,” he explained. “My best friend—his name is Felix—was supposed to be here today if it weren’t for soccer practice. Even _he’s_ not an official club member, though.”

 

He paused, an embarrassed blush appearing on his face.

 

“So I’m afraid it’s really just you and me, Hyunjin.”

 

“That’s fine,” the older boy was quick to say, careful to make sure Jeongin didn’t feel any more insecure about the whole situation. He could tell the younger boy was really excited about the club and its fishes, ever since recruitment week, so it sucked to see how much people didn’t pay attention to it. A part of him felt guilty for joining just because he found Jeongin cute, too, and even guiltier that he felt happy about being alone with the younger boy.

 

As a way to make up for it, Hyunjin decided that he was going to do his damn best to be as interested in the fishes as he possibly could.

 

“So, since I’m here, care to tell me more about what we’re going to do?” He cheerfully asked, hoping it would bring the topic back to a happier one.

 

It worked, thankfully, as Jeongin immediately resumed his bright smile and began to talk more into detail while Hyunjin did his best not to be distracted by how cute the younger boy was and actually listen. He had a total of three different types of betta fish on the table, each one distinct because of the design of their tail. Hyunjin knew a little about them from the Instagram page, but listened dutifully as Jeongin explained the differences.

 

He even whipped out a book from his bag that was all about betta fish, just to show Hyunjin the images of the remaining fish types he didn’t have. 

 

When the boy ended his explanation, he looked at Hyunjin with both a nervous and hopeful expression, waiting for a reaction.

 

“I like this guy,” Hyunjin said, pointing towards the one in the middle—a navy and black coloured Half Moon betta. “His name is Pepi, right?”

 

“Yeah!” Jeongin replied with enthusiasm, nodding his head a little too quickly before catching himself. He stopped his movements as a blush appeared on his features yet again. Hyunjin couldn’t help but take note of just how _easy_ it was to get the younger boy flustered, and he wasn’t even doing anything. Not yet, anyway. 

 

The older boy pointed towards the black cover he was curious about earlier, “why the division?”

 

“Oh, I keep that there so they don’t ram into the glass and stuff, since it could hurt them. It’s not advisable to keep them together in a tank, and even just seeing another betta fish could cause them to naturally respond,” the brunette began to say with a bit of frown, and Hyunjin realized he’s heard this before. “Betta fish are also commonly called fighting fish, but the reactions they have—“

 

“It’s really just because they’re territorial rather than purely aggressive in nature, right?” Hyunjin finished, remembering bits of what the boy said during recruitment week. “That’s why you want to stop the mindless fighting.”

 

As he spoke, Hyunjin could have sworn he heard Jeongin let out a surprised little squeak. He was initially worried that maybe it was a bit rude of him to butt into the other guy’s explanation,especially since Jeongin was the club president and all, but that thought easily went away when he noticed the younger boy was blushing _yet again_. 

 

“Y-you’re right,” Jeongin said, avoiding Hyunjin’s gaze when their eyes met.

 

Hwang Hyunjin was a lot of things, but _dense_ wasn’t one of them. Still, he also wasn’t the type to jump to conclusions, although it made him happy to think that the other boy was possibly interested in him as well. He knew the main cause for Jeongin’s excitement was since he knew something about betta fish though, the boy’s one and only true love. If he had to keep learning about fishes, then so be it, if it caused such a cute reaction. 

 

 

 

 

“Hey Changbin, do you want to join the Betta Fish Society?”

 

“Oh, so you’re recruiting now, too?” Seungmin asked with a snort right after Hyunjin spoke, while the third person in Hyunjin’s dorm room looked positively confused. Changbin was technically part of their friend group, although he was also perpetually busy, so he was rarely around and _always_ late to the news. It was no problem since the other two would usually update him eventually, like what was happening right then.

 

Hyunjin grinned, sitting on the floor beside his bed, “anything for the fishes, dude.”

 

“For the fishes, sure, and you’re _not_ whipped.”

 

“Back up,” Changbin butted in, occupying the bed fully so he could get in a more comfortable position. “Let’s start from the top. What the fuck is this about _fish_? This is the most I’ve heard that word used in one conversation.”

 

The reaction made Seungmin laugh loudly from next to Hyunjin, while the latter easily explained his situation, ignoring the laughing boy. There wasn’t anything that Changbin ever judged him for, thankfully, so he could retell his story with ease. Cute boy, recruitment week, and fishes. Lots of fishes. At the mention of Jeongin’s name, Changbin looked significantly more interested, which Hyunjin picked up on immediately.

 

“Do you know him?” He asked after he finished telling them about what happened during the club’s first meeting, something Seungmin has heard before and didn’t comment on this time.

 

“Not exactly,” the other boy said, suddenly looking bashful. “I know his best friend though. We’re in the soccer team together.”

 

Hyunjin tried to recall what he knew about Changbin’s soccer team from the stories he’s heard and also Jeongin’s best friend, took in the other boy’s expression, and easily put two and two together. Every now and then, whenever he was around, Changbin had one topic: this amazing new player they recruited for the soccer team just last year. The only freshman with potential, although the way Changbin spoke about his freckles more than his soccer moves always gave him away.

 

“You’re telling me _Felix_ is the freshman who caught your eye last year?” 

 

Instead of answering, Changbin threw the nearest pillow he could find at the younger boy’s head, which the latter easily caught since he was so near. With the change of topic came Seungmin’s interest in the conversation again, as he quickly got the same pillow and threw it back on the bed towards Changbin with a wide, shit eating grin.

 

“I guess you _are_ joining the Betta Fish Society, then.”

 

“I can’t, I have soccer,” Changbin said in his defense. “Plus, so does Felix, so I have no reason to join if I already regularly see him.”  


At that, Hyunjin remembered something Jeongin mentioned about Felix supposedly dropping by whenever there was no soccer practice. He brought this up with Changbin, along with how the club was meeting again that Friday, and whether or not he had soccer practice that day. After thinking about it for a while, the other boy said no. Seungmin could see where the conversation was going before it even happened.

 

 

 

 

“Hey, I brought a friend today.”

 

The moment the words left his mouth, Hyunjin knew it was a good idea that he brought Changbin along. He entered the room with the other boy in tow, after enticing his friend with the idea of his soccer boy crush Felix being there, too. When they got to the room, however, it was clearly just Jeongin again with his fishes; no sign of another boy in sight. The younger boy had greeted them with the brightest smile, his eyes practically shining. 

 

"Hi! I'm Yang Jeongin. Are you going to be a member?" He asked, hopeful. 

 

"Well," Changbin began to say, as Hyunjin could tell even _he_ had a hard time saying no at the sight. "I'm just accompanying Hyunjin since he said the fishes are, uh, really cool. I'm usually busy, sorry" 

 

"Oh, that's fine," Jeongin said, only mildly disappointed, which also didn't last very long as he met Hyunjin's eyes. The taller boy had been staring, no doubt, and it amused him further to see how the younger boy quickly looked away, only to end up looking back at him with a nervous expression. He hesitated for a bit before asking, ”you said the fishes were cool?" 

 

Hyunjin nodded, mentally taking note that he had to thank Changbin, "yeah." 

 

“I’m glad you think so," the other boy said sincerely, looking up at him in a way that again, just made Hyunjin want to hug the boy and never let go. Instead of going for a hug though, he ended up doing the next best thing he could think of, which was to raise his hand towards Jeongin's head to pat the shorter boy's hair. He could feel the way Jeongin's breath hitched as he did so and couldn’t help but smile. 

 

"It's no problem," Hyunjin said, trying to shrug it off coolly as he pulled his hand back. 

 

Beside him, Changbin watched with the urge to cringe at Hyunjin doing his smooth moves. Everybody could tell that Jeongin began blushing at the contact. Changbin also simultaneously couldn't help but feel a little bit of awe that Hyunjin could be _that_ smooth when he wanted to be, knowing how much of a dork the younger boy is, no matter how handsome he looked. He was so into the scene that he almost didn't catch the voice that came from behind him.

 

"Hello?"

 

A deep voice he could recognize _anywhere_. 

 

At least Hyunjin was able to turn around to look behind them, since Changbin himself remained frozen in place. He could tell when Changbin began to panic and also when the boy decided to play it cool, masking his features to the best of his abilities, and very nearly scoffed. The orange haired boy who entered could only be Felix, then, judging by the other's reaction—or maybe lack of one.

 

"Felix! You made it!" Jeongin exclaimed, confirming the older boy's thoughts, as he stood on his tiptoes to peek over the other two's shoulders. He still had a hint of the blush he gained from when Hyunjin patted his head earlier, but nonetheless looked significantly more relaxed at the fact that he had his friend around. Felix eventually approached the crowd, looking at Hyunjin first before noticing Changbin. 

 

"Oh, you didn't tell me Changbin was a part of your club," Felix said, turning towards Jeongin with a surprised look, a smile already forming on his face. "I thought you only had, like, one member whom I'm assuming is this guy since you said he was named Hyunjin." 

 

He turned towards Hyunjin, who waved in response as the boy spoke, “hi there." 

 

"I wasn't introduced to him yet, actually," Jeongin admitted, eyes darting towards Hyunjin for a moment before looking away again. His shy and nervous expression slowly faded away in the presence of his best friend. “He’s Hyunjin’s friend.”

 

“And mine! We’re on the soccer team together, he’s the one I told you about who played really well,” Felix commented cheerfully, turning towards Changbin with a smile on his face. 

 

The older boy had a hard time processing the situation of Felix talking about him, which meant he remained standing there frozen, although there was an awkwardly wide smile blooming on his face. Hyunjin noticed his friend and momentarily wondered if birds of a feather really _did_ flock together, before coming to the conclusion that Seungmin would never be this whipped. It was just him and Changbin then.

 

Swooping in to save his friend again, Hyunjin nudged the boy beside him, “heard that?”

 

“Y-yeah,” Changbin stammered out. “I think Felix plays really fucking well, too.”

 

Across him, Felix laughed in delight and began to animatedly bring up something about soccer, which Hyunjin promptly tuned out in favour of focusing on the club president. Jeongin had a tiny frown on his face that was directed towards Changbin, his eyebrows furrowed and a small pout was also on his lips. The older boy wondered why and was about to ask, but Jeongin spoke before he could.

 

“Please don’t curse in front of the fish,” the younger boy said sternly.

 

At least, as sternly as he could muster, since he immediately turned red once the other three boys turned their attentions toward him. Hyunjin couldn’t find it in him to be scared of such a tone coming from Jeongin even if he tried; he couldn’t help the small giggle that escaped his lips, which only served to make the younger boy look even more flustered, opening and closing his mouth and looking very much like the fishes he loved so much.

 

“I mean—“ He tried to explain, but couldn’t since even Felix was laughing by then.

 

“I forgot,” the boy said in between chuckles. He turned towards the two upperclassmen. “Jeongin doesn’t approve of cursing in front of his fish. It’s bad energy, so he prefers good words only.”

 

Changbin actually looked like he felt bad, “I’m sorry”

 

Could the younger boy _get_ any cuter though? Hyunjin genuinely wondered to himself, watching as even his own friend seemed to be caught in Jeongin’s charms, as the latter quickly assured Changbin that it was fine and he didn’t mean to be so strict. Being told not to curse in front of fishes felt like something Hyunjin never thought he would hear, but hearing it come from Jeongin made it seem like it was the most natural thing in the world.

 

Clearly still trying to ease off the tension, Changbin then decided to point at the aquariums.

 

“So, uhm, what kind of fish are they again?”

 

“Betta fish,” Hyunjin answered promptly. From the corner of his eye, he could tell that Jeongin was staring at him again, as he proceeded to further explain more about the fish in the same way the younger boy did just last week. The tail shapes, the colours, their personalities—he even cooed a little at Pepi, who was still his favourite. Once he was done explaining, he turned to Jeongin with a bright smile. “Did I explain those right, club president?”

 

There was a clear pause before Jeongin nodded, refusing to allow himself to speak.

 

Beside him, Felix scoffed, “I think you broke him.”

 

“E-excuse me for a moment,” Jeongin said weakly, frantically making his way out of the classroom before any of the others could ask why. It was probably nothing serious, since Felix didn’t look too concerned, but Hyunjin couldn’t help but feel partially responsible. Did he take things too far? He knew he _wanted_ Jeongin to react somehow, but now the younger boy wasn’t even around. That was no fun. 

 

“Will he be fine?” Changbin asked, voicing out the other boy’s thoughts.

 

The orange haired boy nodded, “he probably just needs a moment. Not everybody shares the same interests in his fishes like Hyunjin over here. Say, do you really like betta fish?”

 

The answer he wanted to say was that he liked Jeongin more, but that didn’t feel like something Hyunjin could entrust with the boy’s best friend, of all people. He could tell that Changbin knew what he was thinking of though, and proceeded to ignore the other boy’s knowing look. Instead he shrugged, glancing towards the three aquariums on the table before nodding a little bit. 

 

“They’re not so bad,” he admitted.

 

“Hm,” Felix said thoughtfully, eyeing the taller boy for a good few seconds, before grabbing Changbin’s wrist and nearly making the older boy yelp in surprise. He grinned cheekily as he spoke, “Jeongin will be back, of course; his pets are here. We’re going to disappear and allow official club matters to proceed. Take care!” 

 

With that, he proceeded to walk out of the classroom with Changbin in tow.

 

“What was that about?” Hyunjin asked no one in particular, especially since he was now alone in the classroom. Jeongin still wasn’t around, and when the older boy had looked outside the classroom, there was no sign of him either. He didn’t want to leave since Felix had a point; Jeongin probably wouldn’t spend so long away from his beloved pets. Similarly. Hyunjin didn’t feel like leaving the fishes alone in the classroom as well.

 

As he waited, Hyunjin decided to sit on the chair closest to the teacher’s desk, leaning forward so that he was fairly near the row of aquariums. Pepi remained in the middle, always the one who moved the most compared to the other two, as the boy actually found himself enjoying as he watched it swim around. Jeongin’s fish were also trained somewhat, he recalled, and couldn’t help but chuckle at the image of Jeongin cheering happily whenever the fish succeeded at something.

 

He really was whipped, even for the boy’s fish, apparently.

 

After what felt like way too long in Hyunjin’s opinion, he finally noticed movement coming from the classroom door. Sure enough. Jeongin’s head popped in a little later, still looking fairly shy but a lot less red compared to earlier. When he noticed that Hyunjin was the only one in the room, he looked like he nearly wanted to backtrack again, but paused when he saw how close the older boy was to his fishes.

 

“Hey,” Hyunjin greeted. “Felix and Changbin left a little earlier.”

 

“Were you playing with them?” The younger boy asked curiously, as he finally walked over, seemingly uninterested about the whereabouts of his friend. When Hyunjin nodded in response, he couldn’t help but smile, earlier traces of embarrassment washing away with the simple upturn of his lips. “I’m really glad you joined the club. I think they’ve been lonely with just me for company.”

 

“I’m sure you’re great company,” the other boy immediately said, before feeling a little nervous himself. What sort of situation were they in now?

 

Apparently in a better condition, Jeongin eased himself into the chair next to Hyunjin and began to talk excitedly about betta fish again. He spoke about how he used to take care of a goldfish when he was younger, which was probably where his love for fishes began. Hyunjin took in every word. Upon the older boy’s request, Jeongin then demonstrated the tricks that Pepi knew with a look on his face that resembled a proud father. 

 

Unable to resist, Hyunjin found himself pinching Jeongin’s cheek, “you’re so cute.”

 

Instead of turning into a blushing mess like Hyunjin expected, Jeongin surprisingly only responded by casting his eyes downward, a small smile still on his face. His face got noticeably warmer, but other than that, made no move to push the other boy away. It was almost as if he had already accepted the situation, which made the older boy wonder what happened during the period that Jeongin was away.

 

The moment was ruined by the school bell ringing, which meant activity hours were over. 

 

Last meeting, Jeongin had insisted that Hyunjin left first, claiming he was going to wait for Felix to help him carry his fishes back to his dorm room. This time, the older boy was adamant when it came to helping him—those were three not exactly lightweight aquariums, after all—especially when a few moments passed and Felix had actually texted that he won’t be able to make it back, making Jeongin sigh. 

 

“I feel like he’s doing this on purpose,” the younger boy muttered, probably more to himself, but Hyunjin heard it regardless and chose not to comment. 

 

 

 

 

The walk to the sophomore dorms wasn’t particularly near, but Hyunjin felt like he wanted it to last a little longer. They made small talk along the way, casual stuff like how Jeongin was able to start the club to begin with; it turned out that he was good friends with Chan, who was that year’s council president, and even Woojin, who was his vice. It was an immediate yes the moment Jeongin had nervously brought it up. Clearly the boy had that effect on everyone, then.

 

“You know,” Hyunjin began casually as they were finally making their way up the stairs to Jeongin’s dorm room. “You don’t have to bring the fishes all the way to the classroom next time, I can just come here.”

 

He genuinely said so because he figured the movement might stress the fish out, even if they were carried so carefully, before he realized what _else_ his words could imply. Staying alone in Jeongin’s dorm room, just the two of them? Not exactly the worst thing he could think of. Still, Hyunjin knew things weren’t going to escalate _that_ quickly. For all he knew, he might not even be allowed to step foot inside the other’s room that day.

 

Before Jeongin could also get the wrong idea, he added, “it’s easier for me to go to the fishes than have the fishes travel all the time, right?” 

 

Surprisingly, Jeongin turned towards him with a look of disappointment clear on his face, with a small pout forming on his lips; the boy was like an open book, Hyunjin realized. He couldn’t hide his feelings even if he tried, despite how scary the younger boy’s resting face was, sometimes.

 

“Really? You only want to visit me for the fishes?” He asked, a subtle whine to his tone. “You don’t want to visit me for anything else?”

 

Before Hyunjin could reply, the other boy stopped in front of his room, carefully placing the aquariums he had on the floor so he could dig through his bag for the keys. It gave the older boy much needed time to think of the proper answer. He knew the honest answer—or at least he thought he did—as he now also considered dropping by for Jeongin, too, since the younger boy seemed to suggest the same idea.

 

“I’m here for both,” Hyunjin eventually said, watching Jeongin freeze for a few seconds as he finally got his door to open. 

 

“Do you do this a lot?” The younger boy asked timidly, picking up the aquariums and refusing to meet Hyunjin’s eye again. “Flirt with people?”

 

“Just one cute boy, so far.”

 

Almost immediately, Jeongin let out a tiny squeak again.

 

Since they were finally entering the room, Hyunjin decided to keep quiet in favour of looking around. It was a lot like his room, except maybe a bit bigger, actually. The walls were bare though, whereas his had some concert posters up here and there. There was a clear section dedicated to his fishes that could easily be spotted upon entering; a rather large table that was decorated with shells here and there.

 

“This is cute, too,” Hyunjin commented, gently placing the aquarium that held Pepi down in the center, the fish’s rightful place. 

 

“Thanks,” Jeongin replied, before catching on the _too_ in Hyunjin’s statement and promptly began to blush again. Hyunjin watched as the younger boy busied himself with arranging the aquariums neatly, before checking the time on his phone. Feeding time, apparently, as he picked up the nearby can of fish food and began to feed his pets. He hummed a little bit as he did so, almost as if he was suddenly unaware of the other’s presence. 

 

“So,” the older boy said after a minute or so has passed. “Am I allowed to be back here again?”

 

Jeongin didn’t meet his eyes as he responded with a quiet, “if you want to be.”

 

“I like it here. I’m sure the fish like it better, too,” Hyunjin commented, wriggling his finger around Pepi’s aquarium and laughing a little bit when the fish began to follow. He could feel Jeongin’s gaze on him again, this time looking up to meet it with his own. There was that flustered look on the younger boy’s face again, but this time with a smile on his face.

 

After a few seconds, a bright smile finally broke out, “I’d like that, too.”

 

 

 

 

There were a lot of reasons why Seungmin wanted to disown his group of friends, but by far what was currently happening came above everything else. He loved Hyunjin, he really did, they’ve been friends for so long and there was no way he could leave him. Even then, the brunette was beginning to feel very close to doing so as he followed behind the taller boy, judging his friend the entire time.

 

Despite the constant nagging, Hyunjin remained happy as they walked around the pet store.

 

It’s been a few months since he first joined the Betta Fish Society. The first semester of the school year was coming to a close, which meant he had to wait an entire month before he got to see Jeongin again, since the other boy was heading back to his hometown for the holidays. They still had regular “club meetings” every week, although even Hyunjin was beginning to catch on to how things felt more like a date than anything else.

 

For starters, after the first time he dropped by Jeongin’s dorm, they really did end up holding the club there instead. He learned that Jeongin _was_ slightly worried for the fish travelling so much. On some days, they weren’t alone, since Felix liked to drop by often along with Jeongin’s other friends, Jisung and Minho. They adapted to having Hyunjin around just fine, which seemed to please the youngest a lot.

 

“What do you think of this one?” Hyunjin asked, pointing towards one of the aquariums. “It’s a Super Delta betta. I think it’s really pretty.”

 

“You think _all_ the fishes have been pretty so far.”

 

“I’m going to convince you to join the club one way or another,” the other boy replied, laughing. “Just wait.”

 

He ended up getting the Super Delta even if at one point, Seungmin had actually suggested a different type instead, claiming _that_ one was prettier. Hyunjin knew that Jeongin didn’t have the Super Delta yet though, at least not in the school dorms—probably back in Busan. Since Felix wasn’t going anywhere, he was in charge of taking care of Jeongin’s fishes while the boy was gone. Hyunjin volunteered, but Jeongin had declined, and there wasn’t much he could say to change his mind. 

 

“It’s not that I don’t trust you,” the younger boy had explained immediately. “I’m genuinely worried my fish are beginning to like you better than me.”

 

How could Hyunjin argue against such a cute reason, right?

 

Seungmin has met Jeongin a few times, too, but it was going to be his first time visiting the boy’s dorm room shortly after they left the pet store. He had heard a lot about Jeongin and his fishes alike, though, so he sort of knew what to expect as they made their way over. Next to him, Hyunjin was already smiling like a fool at the white fish inside the aquarium. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was glad to see Hyunjin enjoying himself so much.

 

When they got to the room, Jeongin’s eyes landed on the aquarium before anything else.

 

“Hyunjin, you didn’t,” he began to say, jaw dropping as Hyunjin presented his gift.

 

“She’s yours, but I do want to take care of this one while you’re away,” the older boy explained, following behind Jeongin who quickly began to make space on his table. Unbothered and apparently unnoticed, Seungmin busied himself with looking at the books the younger boy had, leaving the two to go about being cute and all. He briefly wondered why he agreed to come over for all this to begin with, but he was a good friend like that.

 

Jeongin’s eyes were the widest they’ve ever been as he stared at the betta, “she’s beautiful.”

 

“I think you look better,” Hyunjin said cheekily, earning him a whack on the shoulder. “What? It’s true.”

 

“Thank you for finding me better than a fish,” the younger boy said sarcastically, although there was a smile on his face. He had eventually grown used to Hyunjin being around, along with Hyunjin’s subtle flirting here and there. How could he not, when Hyunjin did so every chance he got? The originally shy Jeongin disappeared a few months into their friendship, although he still got flustered now and then. 

 

“I was going to say I hoped you find me better than betta fish too, but I genuinely think the answer is no,” the other boy joked, which earned him another bright grin as Jeongin said he was right.

 

After a few seconds of watching the scene unfold before him, Seungmin piped up, “so, are you guys really not dating yet?”

 

Jeongin immediately blushed, throwing Hyunjin’s notion that he was less affected by things now that they got to know each other more out the window. The older boy knew that Jeongin must have _at least_ found him attractive, along with how the younger boy should also know about _his_ feelings, which he liked being vocal about—although there was never a formal confession. He figured that was fine, since it also didn’t feel like they danced around it too much, either.

 

“Can’t you see I’m trying to propose with this fish right here?” Hyunjin decided to joke, just to test the waters. 

 

The younger boy blinked, “really?”

 

“If I say yes, will you also say yes to being my boyfriend?”

 

It was a shot in the dark, not exactly the way Hyunjin planned things to go, but he also generally didn’t plan any of the events to begin with. He joined a fish club, out of all the possible clubs, for the sake of getting to know a cute boy even more. He ended up knowing Jeongin more and falling for the younger boy a little more each day, too. That might have been expected, but falling in love with betta fish was definitely _not_ part of his initial plans.

 

Instead of responding, Jeongin moved towards the taller boy and stood on his tiptoes to wrap his arms around the boy’s neck, catching Hyunjin by surprise. The older boy was pulled down into a hug as he felt Jeongin’s breath tickle his right ear in the process. The latter pulled away slightly and before Hyunjin could process things further, like maybe ask what the fuck was happening, his lips were sealed in a light, short kiss that made his mind go blank. 

 

“I thought you’d never ask,” Jeongin said a little breathlessly when he finally pulled back completely, giggling when a bright smile appeared on Hyunjin’s face. 

 

“What the fuck, I just asked if you guys were dating yet. I didn’t say _kiss_ in front of me—“

 

Almost immediately, the two other boys glanced at the fish, then towards Seungmin, “no cursing!”

**Author's Note:**

> I had five tabs about betta fish open for this fic, thank you. I also didn't think it would be this long??? I kind of just kept seeing where this would take me, so I hope the ending's fine.
> 
> Edit: apparently I posted this twice last night before going to sleep,,, I deleted the other one now ahskashsk woops. 
> 
> Twt: @stilljunhui // pls I want more Stay mutuals ♡
> 
> If you like my work and would like to support me, please consider buying me coffee! https://ko-fi.com/stilljunhui


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